Politics and international relations are ready muses for comedy. The pinnacle example thriving on a superior plane above all others is 2009’s In the Loop; I still laugh to myself over lines in that film. Films on the level of Wag the Dog (1997) and Bulworth (1998) occupy the second tier. The French Minister, especially for foreign audiences, lands on the layer below them. Based on a somewhat autobiographical graphic novel by Antonin Baudry using a pseudonym, Abel Lanzac, The French Minister lacks coherence attempting to tie together slapstick, verbal spears, and paradoxes. Fresh out of school, Arthur (Raphaël Personnaz) haphazardly slides into a job with the French Foreign Ministry as the ‘words’ man, short speak for speechwriter. The Foreign Minister, Alexandre Taillard de Worms (Thierry Lhermitte), is a non-stop tornado of a man. Loose papers fly all over the room when Taillard enters with such gusto doors are known to lose their hinges. His presence is not menacing; rather, his demeanor is meant to impress and display his leadership through physical means rather than relying on more emotional/intellectual methods meant to inspire followers. Perhaps Taillard’s over-excitement and frequent misuse of ancient philosophical quotes are more to convince himself of his abilities rather than those around him. Most likely escaping the knowledge of foreign audiences but quite evident to the French, Taillard is a stand-in for Dominique de Villepin, the French Foreign Minister during the era preceding the 2003 Iraq war. The French Minister earned three César awards with two wins most likely because the French can be the only audience members to completely understand the background and the machinations swirling just behind the scenes. The rest of us rely on the fast-paced, witty dialogue and harried looks on the staff’s faces. Taillard tasks Arthur to write his upcoming speech to the UN Security Council. Not even bothering to read the first draft, the Minister tosses the speech back to Arthur because everyone knows all great speeches must go through at least 10 rewrites. Given contradictory instructions concerning the speech’s contents, Arthur tries to keep up with whatever fancy happens to strike Taillard on any day. The rest of the Ministry staff subtly abuses poor Arthur out of personal ambition or the base claim that it is expected to haze the new fish. Providing steady council, Chief of Staff Claude Maupas (Niels Arestrup) appears to be the real power in the Ministry as he defuses fires, steers the ship clear of scandal, and keeps the creaky government gears greased. Coincidentally, Julie Gayet who plays Valérie Dumontheil, the Ministry’s Africa expert, was involved in real-life scandal around the film’s release when it emerged she is French Prime Minister Françoise Hollande’s mistress. I cannot help but smile when reality and art combine in amusing irony. Director Bertrand Tavernier, known for his historical epics, should have employed a bit more glue to fuse the disjointed segments of his comedic farce. At one point, Taillard drones on and on about the characteristics of an effective highlighter and proper highlighting methods and immediately afterwards jets off to a desolate African locale and puts himself in the line of fire to quell what could be the start of a civil war. This scene feels particularly out of place and is hardly mentioned again. Later, Tavernier adds some split-screen camera tricks to emphasize Taillard's staccato instructions to Arthur, but there is no reason to add them to the mix. Taillard gave a very similar speech to Arthur early on with zero camera emphasis. A feeling of slap-dash editing pops up here. The Minister returns to what he does best, speaking in platitudes while declaring his speeches should harbor no platitudes. Script writer Baudry, as a former diplomat, pens credible lines and audiences will not have to stretch too far to believe this is how most countries maintain their diplomacy portfolio. However, The French Minister is a film best suited for domestic subscribers to Le Monde. The translation to English and general unfamiliarity with the film’s specific intentions flies well over foreign heads.